Calvin Sabandar's Staging Area

Although the race didn’t go as I planned to, I really enjoyed the scenery and the amazing crowd. They really helped me get to the finish, especially in the end.

Great course through the city of Köln. Nice start on the bridge over de river Rijn. Enough drinking stations. They even had some cola, which was quite refreshing actually. Great support from the crowd overall, which helped me a lot through the end phase of the race. Awesome finish nearby the Dom church. After the finish there was a lot of drink and food, what was quite refreshing, to refill your energy level quickly after a demanding race. A lot to choose from; banana’s, pears, sausages, cola, water etc.
Bit disappointed by the medal, what was just wood with a cheap design. Still happy with my pb.
Overall: I would love to come back someday 🙂

My first marathon, so can’t really say I did not enjoy it! What an amazing experience it was!
Although I would like to point out some things:
– It’s really crowded around the starting area. Especially Area B was quite tough to get into the starting area. Too many people at one area.
– I agree on the other reviews about the boring part along the Amstel river. It does not give you the ‘Amsterdam’-feeling. Although it did not really bother me, because I was completely in my own focus.

I got my bib on Thursday, when there weren’t not a lot of people. Expo was fine, but didn’t stick there too long. Overall a great experience and I like the medal a lot.

Just a nice small event. Not a really fast course, because it has lot of gravel paths, which can be a bit muddy. But they make some small adjustments every year.